Golden Monkey

Victory Brewing Golden MonkeyI’ve gotten behind on blogging my various beer notes (although even I have to admit blogging nothing but beer tasting gets tedious), so tonight I’m starting to catch up with Golden Monkey from Victory Brewing.

It starts off looking innocent enough. But after I poured it into my glass I took a closer look at the bottle and was stunned: this beer boats a whopping 9.5% alcohol by volume! No wonder: it’s a Belgian Tripel. Good grief, I really should pay more attention to what I’m opening beforehand.

Despite the surprise, I was pleased with this beer. The high alcohol content is surprisingly unnoticeable, and it’s an enjoyable experience.

Appearance: Pale and straw-colored. Slightly murky. A foamy white head dissipated rather quickly.

Smell: Reminds me of a saison (not surprising, since it’s Belgian). Grassy herbal character. Sounds weird, but it smells "golden" somehow.

Taste: Strong; light character full of Belgian candi sugar; saison-remniscent spicing. The hops are very light, not prominent. It’s strong, but not so you’d suspect it was sitting at 9.5 percent…

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly thin for such a strong ale (or rather, so strong it should be this thin); but it’s a bit thin for what I’d like in a Belgian ale in general.

BeerAdvocate’s score: 86 out of 100, with 95% approval. RateBeer’s score: Sits in the 96th percentile with 3.82 out of 5.

Overall, a good beer—but watch out for its strength. Based on that it’s best to consider this a sipping beer.

One comment

  1. I lived in Chester County, PA for a while (home to Victory Brewing), and fell in love with all of their beers. The Hop Devil and Storm King Imperial Stout are stand-outs.

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